Official MLBlog of the Kansas City Royals front office.

June 2011

Royals Charities and FOX Sports Kansas City will host a Broadcast Auction tonight beginning at 6:30 during the Hy-Vee Royals Live pregame show. Unique experiences will be on the line, including a ceremonial first pitch and a suite night at The K with George Brett. For more details, visit www.royals.com/broadcastauction and to bid, call 816-504-4040 after 6:30.

The Kansas City Royals completed the second day of the 2011 First-Year Rule 4 Player Draft today, selecting 29 players after drafting prep outfielder Bubba Starling in the first round (fifth overall) on Monday.

Kansas City’s first selection of the day came in the second round (65th overall) with 18-year-old Manheim Township (Pa.) High School catcher Cameron Gallagher. Right-hander pitcher Bryan Brickhouse, who turned 19 yesterday and is from The Woodlands (Texas) High, was the club’s third round pick (95th overall). Another local selection, in addition to Starling, was pitcher Adam Schemenauer, a 6-foot-9 left-hander from Park Hill (Mo.) South High School.

The club selected 12 players out of high school and 17 from the college ranks today, including four junior college picks. Among the 30 players selected over the first two days, the position-by-position breakdown includes: 17 pitchers (12 right-handers, five left-handers), three catchers, five infielders and five outfielders.

Below is a complete list of the players selected by the Kansas City Royals through the first two days of the 2011 Rule 4 First-Year Player Draft. The draft concludes with rounds 31 through 50 on Wednesday beginning at 11 a.m. CDT.

Heading into Tuesday’s 7:10 matchup against the Toronto Blue Jays, Royals manager Ned Yost spoke with the media about what to expect from tonight’s starting right-hander, Vin Mazzaro, and today’s recall from Triple-A Omaha. Yost touched on Mazzaro’s two pitching appearances with the Royals and the advantages for Mazzaro in tonight’s contest at Kauffman Stadium.

“I think he’s [Mazzaro] got a better shot. He is not rushed like he was in New York (travel issues) or pressed into emergency duties… just go out and pitch like he has in Triple-A,” Yost said.

Starting pitchers Kyle Davies and Bruce Chen, who are currently on the 15-day disabled list, will be starting their rehab work tomorrow and are both scheduled to pitch for the Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals as starters in a doubleheader. Yost commented that the two suffered from different injuries but the skipper hopes to see both of them back with tentative returns dates of June 18 through the end of the month.

Joakim Soria stepped into what amounted as a closer’s role last night during the 10th and 11th extra-innings with right-hander Aaron Crow tossing 1.2 innings in the eighth and ninth. Yost complimented both pitchers’ performances during last night’s contest vs. the Blue Jays saying that the Crow and Soria pitched exceptionally well.

Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, family reunion or a youngster’s first trip to Kauffman Stadium, the club’s Gameday Greetings program is a great way to celebrate those extra-special days at the ballpark.

Fans may purchase a customized Gameday Greeting that will appear on Kauffman Stadium’s LED video displays in left field and right field – along the outfield wall – during the game.

Greetings are displayed in the middle of the third inning and may be purchased online at www.royals.com/gamedaygreetings. A portion of the proceeds benefit Royals Charities. Each purchase also includes a 4” x 6” commemorative photo for you to keep.

Messages are limited to 45 characters, and a limited number of greetings will be shown each game. For more information or to purchase your greeting today, visit www.royals.com/gamedaygreetings.

The MLB Draft kicked off today and this is the third straight year that the Royals have picked a local product in the first few rounds. In 2009, they chose former University of Missouri star and Topeka (Kan.) native Aaron Crow in the first round (12th overall). Last year, Blue Valley Northwest product Jason Adam was KC’s fifth-round pick. Now, the Royals have selected outfielder Bubba Starling from nearby Gardner Edgerton (Kan.) High School in the first round (fifth overall).

Shortly after Starling’s selection, the Royals held a press conference with General Manager Dayton Moore, Assistant GM/Scouting Player Development J.J. Picollo and Director of Scouting Lonnie Goldberg.

While Moore has said before that it is important for the Royals to scout and draft the best players in their area, he also has a staff that is focused on picking the best overall player available. He sees Starling as that player and as one who will help the Royals win. He is excited to get a player that will make big plays for the fans at Kauffman Stadium. Moore is confident that Starling wants to play professional baseball (Starling has a scholarship to play football and baseball at Nebraska).

Moore thanked area scout Blake Davis and Midwest Regional Supervisor Mitch Webster for their hard work in scouting Starling. He also commended Goldberg and Picollo for their tremendous efforts in putting together Kansas City’s draft plan.

When asked how Starling would move through the minor league system, Goldberg said that he would not put any limitations on him. Goldberg sees Starling as a player with raw power and plus speed. When a reporter asked Goldberg about tales of Starling hitting 500-foot home runs, Goldberg smiled and stated that he hasn’t walked off the home runs. Picollo noted that Starling’s familiarity with the city and the Royals will help as he will have a short adjustment period when he ultimately arrives in KC.

Before Monday’s 7:10 series opener vs. the Toronto Blue Jays, Royals manager Ned Yost announced that right-hander Vin Mazzaro will be recalled from Omaha to start on Tuesday. Yost said that Mazzaro earned his way back to the big leagues after three solid starts at Triple-A Omaha.

The Royals will make a corresponding roster move tomorrow to make room for Mazzaro on the 25-man roster.

“He went back down and he did what we asked him to do,” Yost said. “He pitched well and earned his way back up.”

Felipe Paulino will make his second start of the season for the Royals tonight. He has worked 9.1 scoreless innings in his first two appearances since joining Kansas City.

“He has done better than just good,” Yost said. “He’s commanded the ball real well, exhibited really good secondary stuff [and] been on the attack. I’d like to see him maintain it.”

Yost noted that Paulino will have a pitch count around 90 after throwing 71 and 56 pitches in his previous two outings.

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